A/N: First of all, I'm so, SO sorry that it took me this long to update! (winces) Life's… sort of swallowed me up. If it's any consolation I'll do my best to improve my ways from now.

THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for your amazing reviews and love! You can't even imagine how happy it makes me that there are so many of you on board with this story. (BEAMS, and hugs) So thank you! You guys are precious, ya know?

Awkay, because I've already kept you waiting wayyyyyy too long… Let's go! I truly hope that the ride turns out worth the wait.

Shame Marks

/ It's stunning, really, how often the things that change our lives forever arrive as subtly as a whisper.

It was a perfectly normal, rather chilly evening and all Wilson wanted was to get home. He'd had a rough day with two patients dying and he'd had barely any sleep the night before. He couldn't wait to get into the safety of his own bed.

Fate, however, seemed to have very different plans. For just as he was about to call it a day there was a hesitant knock to the door of his office. Wilson sighed and rubbed his face with a exhausted hand. "Come on in", he called as politely as he possibly could. With the fact that he had a light on there was no use in pretending that he wasn't there.

There door opened without much of a sound, almost cautiously. The steps that entered were slow and hesitant, unsteady. "I… was wondering if you have a minute."

Wilson frowned. Slowly, slowly he lifted his gaze. And found his eyes widening. "What are you doing here?" /

Wilson woke up to poking. Again. Fourth time that night, if his math hadn't failed him. He groaned, swatting a hand against the intrusion. "Stop that. I'm not concussed." His head was killing him, though.

House huffed with annoyance. "Tell that to the horn you're developing." Even without looking he felt piercing eyes on him. Amazingly the older man actually remained silent for the total of three seconds. "Wilson, you're a doctor. You can give me whatever fairytale crap you want but I can tell that you should be in a hospital right now."

That most definitely made Wilson's eyes fly wide open, the fact that it seemed to send daggers through his skull be damned. He shook his head fiercely, swallowing stubbornly against the nausea building up. "No."

House stared at him like he'd just told the absolutely worst joke in the whole world. Then snorted. "'No'? You've gotta do hell a lot better than that."

Despite the pain, nausea and the horrific memories spinning around in his head steel hard determination filled Wilson. He gritted his teeth, feeling how his eyes sharpened. Sharpened although he was pleading. "Don't… take me there. Please."

Those people he worked with every day…

He didn't want them to know.

Couldn't bear that idea of them knowing… this.

All he wanted was to stay here. Where he felt safe, with what was familiar. That was why he chose this place – House – in the first place.

Perhaps House actually understood. Because despite the reluctance written all over the older man's face the diagnostician emitted a suffering sigh and nodded. "Fine. But don't think for even a second that we're through with this. Now take off your shirt."

That most definitely caught Wilson's attention. He coughed, as though choking on his very breath. "What?" he sputtered.

House rolled his eyes. "If you're enough of an idiot to demand me not to take you to a hospital I'll have to do the check up myself." Seeing his embarrassment the other man groaned. "Please…! We shared an apartment, remember? I've seen you shirtless before."

The last thing Wilson wanted to do was to bear what he'd worked so very hard to keep to himself. But as much as he hated it he knew that House was right. He didn't know how badly he'd been hurt. And since House had probably guessed most of his secret by now…

Pointedly not looking at his friend Wilson grabbed his shirt with firm yet shaking hands, gritted his teeth once again and pulled the fabric over his head, revealing the damage. Unfolding his shame marks with about as much pride and dignity as he could muster.

He prentended that he didn't hear that brief, sharp gasp. That he didn't sense the immense wave of shock. "Shit…!"

Wilson willed his mind elsewhere when House eventually began the process of cataloguing the damage. Allowed himself to drift away. The words came to him through some sort of a bizarre fog, barely ragistering.

"A lot of bruising and swelling."

/ A kick hit him, so hard that all breath was stolen. Then another. The cry that erupted was that of rage and anguish but it didn't come from him. /

"Bruised ribs, but I don't think any of them are broken. Getting you to x-ray would be a brilliant idea but since you've decided to be a moron…" A hand traveled down his skin and there was a shiver when confusion set in. For a moment Wilson forgot who it was touching him.

/ The glass cut far more sharply that Wilson could've expected when his arm rammed straight through a class cabinet and he stumbled down, unable to hold his balance under the push he'd just received. It cut deep. And as he saw his own reflection from the reddened shards Wilson wondered, with a chilling amount of lucidity, if he was going to die right there. /

"That's going to need stitches. It doesn't look infected, though. I may be able to deal with it here but I doubt it'd be a lot of fun for you…"

"It's okay", Wilson interrupted without a second thought. That comfortingly familiar numbness had taken over him. "I can take it." He'd taken a lot worse without a flinch.

It was blessedly silent for a while. Sure enough House's ministrations hurt but it was far from unbearable. He shivered every time the other man's fingers brushed him, though, his body not quite managing to decide what to make of the contact.

/ "I'm sorry…! I'm so sorry…!" /

Wilson was drifting in a world of his own until House's voice pulled him back harshly. "So… Are you going to tell me who did this to you so we can hand that guy's ass to the cops on a silver platter?"

Wilson swallowed loudly, feeling trapped. All of a sudden he didn't feel quite so safe anymore. "I don't know", he claimed quickly. "I was…"

"You have bruises in various stages of healing and some already scarred wounds." House's voice was shaking with fury and impatience. "So if you think that you can write this off as some sort of a random attack, guess again."

Finally Wilson looked at his friend, met those fierce blue eyes that were clearly demanding explanations. He lifted his chin a little. "Stop that." How many times had he asked that over the past twenty-four hours?

Once again he was ignored. "Whatever this is, it's been going on for a while, now. Why did you choose to seek help now?" And then, of course, the diagnostician's eyes spotted the bruising on his neck. "This time was different. Something new happened."

All of a sudden hellish burning took over Wilson's eyes. His whole battered body shook. "House, STOP!" he snarled with as much volume as his abused throat allowed.

Something entirely too close to fury flashed in House's eyes. "You've seen how things like this may end! This will kill you, Wilson! Don't you understand how close it came today? What do you think you're doing?!"

Wilson's jaw tightened to such extend that it hurt. His eyes lit up to a flame. "I'm not some battered housewife, House! And I'm not one of your cases either! So SHUT UP!" He was up far faster than his head would've been ready for it, scrambling towards the door with feet that barely carried his weight. "This was a mistake, coming here. Just… Just forget about this, okay?"

House stared at him incredulously, then shook his head. "Yeah, that confirms it. You did bang your head, hard. Because you're delusional."

It took all the remaining composure Wilson had. But in the end he managed to create a relatively calm expression. "See you tomorrow", he murmured in the most monotonous voice he was able to find. "And thanks, for this." With that he was on his way away.

"Wilson, I'm not going to let you…!"

The door was already closed between them. Such a silly, small obstacle. Yet Wilson felt like there'd never been a greater distance between them.

Somehow that thought hurt more than any of his injuries.

House stared at the door for the total of three minutes. Stared, as though expecting it to open with the sheer power of his will. It didn't.

House swallowed, hating the taste that filled his mouth.

Those bruises on Wilson's skin were etched into his head like a tattoo. Never to be erased. He'd never felt such rage in his life that filled him at that moment.

Whoever did this to Wilson wouldn't stop.

And Wilson wouldn't walk away.

Not until…

Well. Too bad. Because House wasn't about to let that happen. Not as long as there was even a single breath left within him. Wilson had brought him back from the brink far more times than he could count. It was time to return the favor.

So House took his cell phone and dialed numbers. He drummed impatiently with his fingers until there was finally a response. "Don't hang up." It sounded far too much like a plea to his liking but he decided to let that slide for now. "This isn't about me."

The apartment was dark when Wilson walked in. It made sense. Quite often after one of their confrontations Nick went for a walk to clear his head. Good. It made doing what had to be done easier.

Quickly, his hands shaking miserably the entire time, Wilson began to gather the few belongings he considered his. A toothbrush. Clothes. Some precious mementos Nick had chuckled at the day he brought them in. He didn't bother to write a note. After all the time passed he was sure that the reasons for his departure were more than clear.

Once he was done Wilson looked around and blinked slowly. So very little seemed to have changed. It was amazing how a person could disappear entirely without leaving even the slightest trace.

Wilson was exactly two steps away from the door when his cell phone began to ring. He frowned at the unfamiliar number, a shiver of dread crossing him. It took longer than it should've before he made his decision and picked up. "James Wilson."

"This is nurse Veronica Tilly." Her voice was professional yet full of empathy. Or was that pity? "A man named Nick Duncan was admitted here an hour ago and you are listed as his emergency contact…"

At that very moment Wilson knew that he wouldn't be getting away tonight.

Another hour later found Wilson from a small, dark hospital room. It wasn't his hospital, thankfully, but it hadn't made passing by the nurses and doctors with his bruises a lot more pleasant. The humiliation barely mattered now, though.

Wilson swallowed laboriously and hated how a moment of fear grabbed him. As though Nick would've been able to do anything in his current condition. Unable to do much else he slumped to the chair that'd been dragged beside the bed, his eyes not straying from the patient.

He made a promise, once upon a time. And he wouldn't break it, especially not now. So he sat there in the dark, with the unconscious man and machines keeping him company, and waited. Feeling like a wild animal trapped into a cage far too small.

TBC

A/N: So what, exactly, is going on with Nick? And hey, did you honestly expect House to just sit by doing nothing while THIS is going on? And what's Wilson going to do?

IN THE NEXT ONE: While House learns the full complexity of Wilson's situation the younger doctor becomes sucked even deeper into the mess. Is it already too late to help him?

Until next time, ya all! I REALLY hope that you'll all join in for that one. And since I most likely won't be updating before that… (winces)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Take care!

emili12d: Poor Wilson, no? (winces) Let's hope that things start to get better soon.

I'm REALLY happy to hear that you're so eager to read more! I truly hope that the next one won't disappoint you.

Huge thank yous for the review!

axe10gas: A bit of a twist there, no? Let's just hope that Wilson gets some help SOON. Because that situation he's in seems really bad. (shudders) I REALLY hope that you'll keep enjoying what's to come!

Massive thank yous for the review!

Namasteyo: Quite a horrid situation Wilson's in, no? (sighs) Let's hope that it's resolved soon, especially now that it seems House will soon know the truth.

I could totally see Wilson doing this, staying in a VERY unhealthy relationship because someone needs him desperately. Let's just hope that the determination to help won't cost him too dearly…

Colossal thank yous for the review!